Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Eliran Golan to stand trial

A psychiatric evaluation filed Tuesday in Haifa District Court indicated that Eliran Golan, accused of a number of attempts to murder Jews and Arabs in Haifa, is fit to stand trial.

...

Golan was apprehended three years after he began setting explosive devices. He set a total of nine bombs against Arabs (including one against MK Issam Makhoul), Jews who associated with Arabs, and the employers at the messenger service where he worked.

...

The police initially claimed that a large network was at work, and arrested Golan's father and two friends from the army. Later, they were released and only Golan was charged.

In all, Golan is suspected of having placed nine bombs in the Haifa area, with his targets including a mosque, Arab-owned homes and cars, Jews he believed had befriended Arabs, and his employer at a messenger service. Some of the improvised bombs exploded, injuring a number of people.

On October 24 last year, a bomb allegedly placed by Golan exploded under Makhoul's car, which at the time was being driven by the legislator's wife, who was on her way to pick up their children from school. The car was partially burned in the attack, but Makhoul's wife was uninjured. In court yesterday, Golan voiced regret over the entire affair. He said that his intention had not been to attack Arabs in general, but to strike at those he believed were harming Israel's security.

News like this makes me think - if Golan had been Palestinian he would not have recieved a psychiatric evaluation. In fact, he would probably be dead. His father probably would not have been released - he may well be dead also. Even if his father was released, he would not have a place to go home to - a bulldozer would have demolished the Golan's house, as well as parts, if not all, of the neighboring houses. You see, there is terrorism in Israel, but it's not exclusive to Palestinians. And Israel's lauded "right to defend herself" can take different forms. Sometimes it's interesting to look at how different situations require different actions and wonder why that is.

News like this makes me think that reports that the most recent bomb in Tel Aviv, to which Sharon immediately pointed as evidence that the World Court just doesn't 'get it', was an Israeli job might not be so far-fetched as Sharon and others would like us to think.

Far-fetched or not, there's really no evidence to support such a claim. The key to the pro-Palestinian argument is not in promoting conspiracy theories that cannot be backed up, it is in making the world aware that there are Palestinians, that they suffer in a very real way, and that the wall, in it's current form, is illegal and counterproductive whether the bombing in Tel Aviv was Palestinian or not. I'm so sick of hearing that the "fence around Gaza is proof that fences are good" because there have been less suicide bombers out of Gaza. This line of reasoning only acknowledges the Israeli position, ignoring the millions of Palestinians who suffer every day in Gaza.

I take your point and agree with it. I think it's very tough for Palestinians to get anything like a fair hearing on this, however.

Part of the trouble is this whole 'conspiracy' tag. Was it a conspiracy that not one single senator would sponsor the Black Congressional Caucus' attempts to have the 2000 election debacle handled by the constitutionally authorized house vote? No, but whatever dynamic was at work that made this happen is just as effective. And here in this country, the way the Palestinian-Israeli mess is reported consistently downplays the manipulations the Israelis do of events and motives while ridiculing the Palestinians for accusing the Israelis of 'conspiracies'. Double whammy for the Palestinians while giving the Israelis far more than the benefit of the doubt; it suggests the Israelis are the victims of maligners and hate-talk.

I mean, after all, I'm reading about Eliran Golan on your blog, not in the WaPo.